Feedback consolidation algorithm for ABR point-to-multipoint connections in ATM networks

The point-to-multipoint ABR service in ATM networks is important for many data applications. Resource management (RM) cells are used by receivers to return back to the source an explicit rate indicating their bandwidth fair share on the bottleneck of the path leading to them. Switches in the multicast tree consolidate the information in backward RM cells received from downstream switches or receivers and forward this consolidated information to their upstream switch. A number of algorithms have been developed for extending ABR congestion avoidance algorithms to perform feedback consolidation at the branch points. A demonstration of the performance of the proposed algorithm compared with some other algorithms through a set of numerical examples is presented. We used the ATM/HFC network simulator version 4.1, released December 1998 by the American National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST). The simulator code is modified to make the algorithm.